Leadership Communications
j - [just]
onto - [being, the sources of entity and essence]
The challenges we address
When C-suite execs need a rigorous sounding board while navigating complexity
When technical experts are promoted and need to learn ‘people skills’
When teams ‘don’t gel’ or fall into unproductive conflict
When people need access to opportunity
When complex messages need to be communicated with clarity
When stories need to be shaped to engage, influence and mobilise people to action
When people need to develop more effective leadership and executive presence.
Shaping an excellent Leadership Culture
When a business has good processes, technology and people in place, it will thrive. When people exercise leadership within that good business it has an opportunity to grow through adversity and build genuine goodwill.
To create an excellent leadership culture, we start by asking people at all levels of the organisation the following ‘simple’ multi-layered questions:
Who are you?
What do you do?
Who are your clients?
Only when we’ve surfaced the full range of perspectives, do we come to the important process of exploring and shaping actions to affect useful change:
How do we want our clients to experience us?
How are they currently experiencing us?
How do we bridge the gap?
We work with you to build the stepping stones towards an aligned workforce and brand, where people understand what the company stands for, represent the brand with pride and support each other’s growth to help the business thrive.
We always ask what the organisation wants. Then we seek to understand. Then we work with you to make a difference.
Executive coaching
Leadership development
Workshops and programs of learning
Media making
This is what Jonto does.
How we work
Through skilful coaching and active workshop-style learning, Jonto helps people develop the abilities to mobilise themselves and others in complexity and lead with integrity, respect, humour, courage and responsibility. We aim to take people and organisations into ‘flow’, increasing their understandings of leadership, self and impact. Connection to values and purpose are key to Jonto’s ‘transmogrifying’* approach.
Jonto maintains a small number of highly valued clients, with whom it has strong trust relationships and true partnership. Our purpose is to offer individuals and teams time, space, care and expertise for growth, for the betterment of their organizations, loved ones and themselves.
* Transmogrifying [transforming in a surprising or magical manner]
What we offer:
1:1 Executive coaching
1:1 coaching in Professional Presence and Impact, and Media skills
Leadership Development programs - from a week to a year long transformational cohort development at emerging and senior executive levels.
Full and half-day workshops in Media Skills, Professional Presence (Personal Brand) and Presenting
Crisis Media response coaching - when someone needs to front the media and there’s a lot at stake
Media production (training films, internal marketing, external promotions and online content)
Workshops in universal design
Jonto comprises a coalition of first class practitioners in leadership, media, counselling, organisational psychology and assessment, theatre, accessibility consultation, teaching and filmmaking, drawn upon regularly and purposefully, subject to the context of the client.
Founder James Freemantle established REDgum Communications in 2008, merging with leadership development consultancy People Measures in 2018 where he was a partner until the launch of Jonto in 2022. Attending the ‘Art and Practice of Leadership Development’ at the Harvard Kennedy School stretched his thinking and offered frameworks to navigate complexity and develop leadership. This enabled him to build on his foundations in media and teaching.
Jonto’s goal is always to create an environment of trust, where people feel safe and supported enough to experiment and take the risks required to enhance their growth and increase the effectiveness of their organisations.
Jonto has senior experience across government, private and not-for-profit sectors in facilitation, consultation and coaching
Who we are
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James Freemantle
Founder, Facilitator, Executive Coach
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Christine Wallace
Facilitator and Executive Coach
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Nick Morris OAM PLY
Accessibility consultant, Mentor and Coach.
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Rudi Doku
Facilitator and Executive Coach
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Paul Gillespie, Group CEO, Smart Parking
I have drawn on James Freemantle’s expertise for a decade. As an exec coach he helped me tackle some of the challenges of running and growing a successful international company and how to engage with high stakes investors, board members, clients and our workforce. I asked James to coach our executive team and to produce media and events for our annual launches (his media background is a bonus!) In 2023, the Smart Parking SLT embarked on a year-long Jonto Adaptive Leadership program run by James. The program included in-person workshops in the UK and New Zealand as well as online workshops, a psychometric assessment, debrief and individual coaching.
For many in the team, this work was transformative. It challenged participants to think differently, act more strategically and build stronger relationships. They’ve increased trust in each other, support and challenge each other and share a language of leadership that is helping Smart Parking to achieve its ambitious growth trajectory.
Jonto has now designed a version of this program for our emerging leaders, for which James is running northern and southern hemisphere cohorts across 2024-25.
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Kate Gorman, Lecturer, Industry Leadership Program Facilitator & In-House HR Consultant, Marcus Oldham College
I have worked with James Freemantle over the past three years as a co-facilitator of the Marcus Oldham Rural Leadership Program, bi-annual week-long residential intensive course for leaders representing all aspects of the industry in Australia.
James’s approach is both unique and incredibly powerful. His thoughtful and respectful style builds almost immediate trust. This allows him to gently challenge preconceptions and encourage participants to deeply reflect on both their personal attributes and their leadership style. James is genuinely interested in people and open to all perspectives, which allows him to step back and provide the space for the sharing of stories, which are invariably very powerful to illustrate the core points of his content. He builds an environment that encourages open communication, both from participants and other facilitators with a sense of fun, but also doesn’t shy away from pushing participants to face discomfort. He manages to do this sensitively and supportively, to encourage their growth. I can’t recommend James highly enough to deliver well researched content that will have a deep impact on all participants.
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Matthew Hill, Race caller, Olympics and AFL Football commentator
James Freemantle and I worked together for the good part of a year on every aspect of my career. The nurturing from James has made a significant difference in building my brand and becoming a more rounded and authentic broadcaster.
James educates his clients with compassion as he goes on the journey with you and keeps you motivated whilst challenged and questioned, all the time with your best interests at heart. With an exceptional resume in media around the world, James’s experience, knowledge and intelligence make a great sounding board for those that are tackling any form of performance head on.
In a world where presentation has become vital for success, James is an essential person to have on your team.
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Julie McDonald, Chief Financial Officer, MDH Pty Ltd
I had the privilege of attending a leadership course in 2023 that was led by James Freemantle. The week was crafted in such a way as to build a level of trust within our group that I have not encountered before. James is a skilled facilitator with a deep knowledge of leadership and how to bring out the best in each of us. The course has had a lasting impact on both my business and personal life, and my role in our industry.
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AFL commentator, Essendon captain 2006-2009, triple Coleman medallist, Premiership player 2000.
James identified my room for improvement areas in the first hour we worked together and from there has given me the tools, confidence and self belief to perform in the next phase of my life.
Open Mike on 3AW
Matthew Lloyd: I had a poor reputation for my media work because… I was bland, dull, didn’t offer too much... So I started to get some media training throughout the year and started planning for life after footy.
Mike Sheehan: What does media training entail? Tell me about that.
ML: I met a guy along the way who’d done some media training with the footy club…
His name’s James Freemantle... and we’d do a three-hour stint on a Monday afternoon and it was pretty intensive. You’d be doing things you’d be too embarrassed to do in front of other people, but it was just about my tone of voice and all the things that I’ve still got to be working on now...
You get to the top in your first field in playing and in a sense you go back to being a rookie in the new walk of life.
